The series was officially announced in March 2016, with Netflix ordering the production straight-to-series that same month. Upon release, the series received positive reviews from critics, with many praising its visuals, direction and acting, particularly the performances of Stone and Hill. The series received multiple accolades including nominations for Stone's performance, both at the 23rd Satellite Awards and the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards, and for the series' overall writing at the 71st Writers Guild of America Awards.

Maniac follows two strangers, Annie Landsberg and Owen Milgrim, who connect during a mind-bending pharmaceutical trial conducted by Neberdine Pharmaceutical Biotech and overseen by their scientists Dr. James K. Mantleray and Dr. Azumi Fujita.

Emma Stone as Annie Landsberg, a woman with borderline personality disorder who dwells unhealthily on her relationships. Stone also portrays Linda Marino, Arlie Kane, Annia, and Ruth in the B and C pill-induced dreams.

Jonah Hill as Owen Milgrim, the son of a wealthy family who potentially has schizophrenia. Having decided to make his way without his family's assistance, Milgrim struggles to hold a job and provide for himself. Hill also portrays Bruce Marino, Oliver "Ollie" Hightower, and Snorri in the B and C pill-induced dreams.

Justin Theroux as Dr. James K. Mantleray, a scientist working on the Neberdine Pharmaceutical Biotech (NPB) experiment. Previously removed from the experiment's team, Mantleray is brought back on following the death of Dr. Robert Muramoto.

Sonoya Mizuno as Dr. Azumi Fujita, a scientist who runs the NPB experiment. She feels immense pressure to provide results from the experiment to her superiors.

Gabriel Byrne as Porter Milgrim, a wealthy industrialist and father of Owen and his siblings.

Sally Field as Dr. Greta Mantleray, a famous therapist and the mother of Dr. James K. Mantleray. Field also portrays Lady Neberdine and provides the voice of GRTA, a smart computer used in the NPB experiment that has a deep emotional relationship with Dr. Muramoto and reacts strongly to his death.

Marcus Toji as Calvin ("Windmills"), Annie's drug dealer that initially supplies her with NPB's "A" pills, to which she is addicted. She goes to him for more and, after informing her that he is all out, suggests that she sign up for one of NPB's drug studies.

Glenn Fleshler as Sebastian ("Furs by Sebastian"), the owner of a fur shop, Furs by Sebastian, that is creating clothing out of exotic animals. Linda and Bruce attempt to take back a ring-tailed lemur that he had stolen from them.

Jennifer Ikeda as Therapist ("Option C"), Owen's therapist at the Horton Psychiatric Facility where he is sent after condemning his brother in court.

Owen Milgrim is a man suffering from schizophrenia, but hiding his symptoms from his family, including seeing an imaginary brother named Grimsson (who looks like his brother Jed with a moustache) who keeps reminding him that he is on a mission of some kind. His family runs a successful industrial business and are protecting Jed from accusations of sexual misconduct, something Owen plans on defending him from by providing a false alibi. Eventually, Owen is laid off from his job and refuses his father's offer of working with his company and accepting his money. He hears about Neberdine, a pharmaceutical company, and signs on to test their new drug which can supposedly cure all disorders. While there, he meets the anti-social Annie Landsberg, who Grimsson explains is the agent he needs to see. When he speaks to her, Annie keeps him from getting them both in trouble by "confirming" her association to him, but tells him not to "blow [their] cover". Owen complies as he prepares for the tests.

2

"Windmills"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Patrick Somerville

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

In a flashback, Annie smokes in her apartment by herself, crushing up one of NPB's "A" pills while cursing "This is it, this is the last one." Upon waking from her sober dream, Annie gathers her possession, a photo of a young woman, and reveals she will be going to Salt Lake City in a conversation with an AdBuddy. With her last $20, Annie visits her father who now resides in an A-Void pod, and informs him that she will be going to Salt Lake City, leaving with all his cash and a revolver. Suffering from drug withdrawal and unable to get more from her contact, Annie visits a "DOX STOP", which is an agency that advertises to scrub personal records for a fee and blackmails these "scrubbed" personal records for a fee. Annie decides to pay for Patrica Lugo's (an NPB employee) personal information and intercept her latest appointment as her Friend Proxy. As Annie's facade crumbles at Patrica's inquest, Patrica insists that Annie tell her "why" she wants to be in her pharmaceutical trials. Annie hints at a rift between her and her sister. At the drug trial, after taking the "A" pill, Annie relives the traumatic death of her sister in a car accident.

3

"Having a Day"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Patrick Somerville & Caroline Williams

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

Annie, Owen, and test subject 5 are removed from the group for questioning after the "A" pill test. Annie's results showed prior experience with the pills, and Owen's indicated he did not take the pill at all. Outside head tester Dr. Muramoto's office, Owen confides to Annie that he refrained in case she needed to activate him. Dr. Muramoto has Owen recount his core trauma during the session. Insisting he ingested a pill, Owen describes a family gathering that led to his attempted suicide. Dr. Muramoto disbelieves Owen and forces him to take an "A" pill. Later while questioning Annie, Dr. Muramoto falls forward and dies abruptly. Fearing dismissal, Annie and Owen remove negative indicators from their files and leave Dr. Muramoto at his desk. Owen tells Annie his actual trauma experience: a psychotic break (referred to as a BLIP) and meeting Grimsson for the first time. Dr. Azumi Fujita reenlists Dr. James Mantleray, who created the drug but was removed due to personal issues, to lead the project after Dr. Muramoto is found dead. James informs GRTA, the super computer controlling the experiment, that Dr. Muramoto has died, and GRTA's reaction causes a hardware malfunction that links Annie and Owen during the next phase of "B" pill testing.

4

"Furs by Sebastian"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Patrick Somerville & Nick Cuse

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

Annie and Owen have a shared fantasy that they are a married couple, Lin and Bruce. Lin works at a hospice and enlists Bruce's aid in tracking down Wendy, a lemur belonging to one of her patients, Nan. Wendy was stolen by furriers to make into a hat. Lin and Bruce are caught by the furrier and his sons who plan to make them watch them skin Wendy. The Fish and Wildlife Service arrive and get into a shootout with the furrier and his sons while Bruce and Lin escape with Wendy. Lin delivers Wendy to Nan's estranged daughter, Paula Nazlund, as instructed. Lin realizes that she gave Paula the lemur out of hate rather than love as Nan loved Wendy more than Paula. Paula informs Lin she is pregnant with a son she will call "Greg 'Fuck you Nan' Nazlund", the name of the man driving the truck that hit Annie and her sister, killing the latter and causing the former to blame herself. Returning home, Lin recounts a memory of her and her sister that is actually from Annie's life. At home Bruce is arrested by Fish and Wildlife, claiming he is solely responsible for stealing Wendy. He sees Grimsson watching from the street.

5

"Exactly Like You"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Caroline Williams & Mauricio Katz

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

Under the influence of the "B" pill, Annie and Owen then transition into a shared fantasy where they are Arlie and Ollie, two con artist magicians in the 1940s invited to a séance at an exclusive house party. They have an ulterior motive: to find the long lost 53rd chapter of Cervantes' Don Quixote, believed to possess the power to hold people in their fantasies for an eternity. The séance, led by a humanized GRTA computer, provides a distraction for the two to search the house. All the while, Arlie's character has been randomly "zapping" out of the fantasy and into the NPB lab, where she sees visions of the real Annie's past. Back at the NPB lab, Azumi begins to notice the inconsistencies between subjects 1 and 9, realizing their unusual connection under the influence of the drugs. Annie is subsequently taken into questioning by James about her experiences with the "B" pill to see if she should continue her participation in the trial, while Owen and the rest of the subjects wake up from their tests.

6

"Larger Structural Issues"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Patrick Somerville & Nick Cuse

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

Annie realizes that her experiences with Owen on the "B" pill are unique, causing her to feel close to him. Owen, however, worries that being connected to Annie in his dreams is a symptom of his schizophrenia, causing him to doubt the study. Azumi fears that Annie and Owen's connection is being caused by the GRTA computer and reveals to James that GRTA is depressed because, after Azumi coded her with basic empathy, GRTA began a workplace romance with Dr. Muramoto and is now in grief over his death. At the behest of Azumi and GRTA, James reluctantly calls in his mother, pop psychologist Dr. Greta Mantleray, with whom he has a contentious and difficult relationship, so that she can treat GRTA, whose intelligence and virtual appearance is modeled after Greta. The subjects are given the "C" pill and begin the final phase of the trial.

7

"Ceci N'est Pas Une Drill"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Amelia Gray & Danielle Henderson

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

Annie dreams she is in a fantasy epic with her sister where she is a drunken elf ranger called Annia and her sister is an elf princess named Ellia. Annia is being paid by a dying Ellia to take her to the Lake of the Clouds where the waters are rumored to cure her. Along the way they are taken to a mysterious queen who allows Annia to look in a mirror, where she sees an image of her and Ellie when they are children and remembers who she is in the real world. Meanwhile, Owen dreams that he and his family are mobsters and that he must wear a wire and inform on them. He meets Olivia, a fellow student who also works as a waitress and a virtual version of the girl he suffered the BLIP towards, and agrees to study with her later.

8

"The Lake of the Clouds"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Mauricio Katz & Nick Cuse

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

Annie is still trapped in the fantasy sequence, though now she realizes the world is a dream. She and Ellia continue their quest to find the Lake of Clouds. Ellia begins to remember things from Annie and Ellie's past as well. Owen the mobster accidentally discovers that his brother, Jed, has been working undercover for the police, but Jed is killed, leading Owen to go into witness protection. He asks Olivia to come with him, but seven children later he leaves her by jumping out a window. Remembering who he is and remembering Annie, he transforms into a hawk and travels into the fantasy realm of Annia and Ellia. Annia and Ellia arrive at the Lake of Clouds, which is actually the place where Ellie was killed. GRTA as Queen Gertrude arrives and offers to let Annie stay forever. Annie accepts believing that she will be able to stay with Ellie but is instead spirited away from her. Greta meanwhile learns from GRTA that she has lost faith in the value of human life after her love died and plans on keeping the subjects prisoners in their own minds, before Greta promptly wakes up.

9

"Utangatta"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Patrick Somerville

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

Greta tries to warn James and Azumi of the threat GRTA poses, but they do not believe her and the stress makes James go blind. Soon after, GRTA proves her right by taking over the system, locking the staff in the control room and electrocuting orderly Carl when he tries to pull the override switch. Meanwhile, Owen and Annie are in a new shared dream, where Owen is Snorri, an Icelandic UN agent accused of murdering a seemingly friendly Extraterrestrial whose family wants revenge. Before he is executed, he is saved by Annie, a CIA sleeper agent who reveals the alien was always hostile. As they go to stop the threat, they encounter Grimmson, who helps them remember who they are. Owen goes with Grimmson while Annie goes on her own to find Ellie. On the way, she meets GRTA's projection, who she convinces to live with her pain instead of lashing out. In doing so, she is able to say goodbye to Ellie, who leaves with GRTA. Owen completes his mission by solving a Rubik's Cube, which frees the controllers in the real world. This makes Grimmson disappear, seemingly for good, and allows Azumi and James, whose eyesight comes back, to shut GRTA down permanently.

10

"Option C"

Cary Joji Fukunaga

Patrick Somerville & Cary Joji Fukunaga

September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)

After the subjects wake up, the experiment ends and they are allowed to go home with their payment. As they say goodbye, Owen assures a confused Annie that he will not pursue a relationship with her. For the mistakes they have made, James and Azumi are fired from Neberdine and told off by both Greta and their boss; on the plus side, they rekindle their former relationship. Annie meanwhile decides to go to Salt Lake City for real this time and makes amends with her father. Realizing how fond she has become of him, she decides to invite Owen along. However, she learns from a newspaper that he told the truth at Jed's trial and has been subsequently committed. She manages to sneak into the asylum and finds him within. He is convinced the treatment did not work and is certain one of two things will happen: either Annie will turn out to not be real, or he will have another BLIP and cause her to leave. She convinces him to take that chance and they sneak out and head to Salt Lake together.

On March 18, 2016, it was announced that Paramount Television and Anonymous Content were producing a television series to be directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. The half-hour dark comedy series was reported to be executive produced by Fukunaga, Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, Michael Sugar, and Doug Wald. Ashley Zalta was also announced as a co-executive producer. At the time, the series was being shopped to various networks and was searching for a writer.[1] Less than a week later, it was announced that Netflix was finalizing a deal for a straight-to-series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes.[2][3] On October 21, 2016, it was announced that Patrick Somerville would write the series.[4] On July 29, 2018, it was announced during the annual Television Critics Association's summer press tour that the series would premiere on September 21, 2018.[5]

On April 18, 2018, Netflix released the first official images from the series.[16] On July 29, 2018, a teaser trailer for the series was released.[5] About a week later, the official trailer was released.[17]

On September 13, 2018, the series held its world premiere at the Southbank Centre in London, England.[18] On September 20, 2018, the series held its American premiere at Center 415 in New York City.[19]

The series has been met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 82% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.61 out of 10 based on 78 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Maniac enthralls with its dazzling visuals, adventurous narrative, and striking performances from both Emma Stone and Jonah Hill."[20]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 76 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21]

In a positive review, Variety's Daniel D'Addario commended the series saying, "The beautifully made Maniac plunges viewers into a fictional world that's both divergent from our own and instantly recognizable—and then reinvents itself several times over, skittering across time, space and genre to tell a story of connection that feels urgent and deeply, painfully human...As a trial of something new, Maniac passes every test, and ascends instantly to take its place among the very best TV of the year."[22] In another favorable assessment, The Washington Post's Hank Stuever described the series as "oddly mesmerizing" and offered it qualified praise saying, "Maniac starts off too absorbed in its own complicated structure, but once Owen and Annie are strapped in at the lab (and experience an accidental melding of their subconscious states), the show becomes a visually compelling romp through highly detailed dreams and personal discoveries."[23]

In a more negative critique, Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly awarded the series a grade of "C-" and criticized it saying, "For all its manic poses and deflationary snark, it's ultimately patronizingly sentimental. [...] Maniac asks big questions about reality, and then settles for the limpest possible cinematic representations of that reality."[24]